The secrets of how Michelle Obama turned the White House into a home
Interior designer Michael S. Smith, husband of former US ambassador to Spain James Costos, reveals in a new preface book by the former first lady how they sought "comfort, warmth, security"
A house, without more, is not a home. And if the house in question has 5,000 square meters, six floors, 412 doors, seven elevators, more than 200 years and even a committee that is in charge of caring for and protecting it, it is even more difficult to turn it into a minimally habitable place without causing fear. until you change a burned out light bulb. It is therefore no wonder that when the Obamas arrived from Chicago to the White House in January 2009, they were overwhelmed by a place that was not exactly welcoming at first.
Far from being overcome by the inertia of the years or overwhelmed by works of art, the couple decided to get down to work. It was Michelle Obama who was in charge of giving the place a facelift and turning it into a home, that of the first black presidential family living there. To do this, the first lady decided to ally with whom she has become one of her closest friends: interior designer Michael S. Smith, husband in turn of the US ambassador to Spain, James Costos. Now, Smith is determined to reveal the secrets about how he breathed life into the old building for two young workers and their daughters then seven and ten, as well as the first lady's mother, Marian Robinson, who moved in with them. . And it is Michelle Obama - now 56 years old - who prolongs the volume, giving clues and details of what it was like to live in one of the most famous, scrutinized and portrayed buildings in the world.
On September 1, “Designing History: The extraordinary art & style of the Obama White House” went on sale, published by Rizzoli publishing house, with 176 pages of photographs and the history of the presidential family. In its prologue, which People has advanced, the former first lady recounts how she quickly got on with Smith to find out what they wanted to do.
She immediately understood that we were a young family with girls who preferred Crate & Barrel [a well-known medium-priced American furniture chain] to sideboards, and with a grandmother who's hair would stand on end with every little pomp " , describes. "But we were also the Obamas: the first black residents of the White House." As she herself says, “the pressure on any presidential family is enormous; the pressure on the first black family would be even greater. Michael never lost sight of that. " In addition, as she explains, the interior designer "made sure that our values and vision of the United States, based on inclusion and love for all its inhabitants, were reflected in every detail of that important house."
The question of creating a home was important. “A home is a specific place, with specific people and specific memories. But beyond that, it was a concrete sensation. It was comfort, warmth, security, the enveloping richness of our family's history ”, recalls Michelle Obama about her arrival at the place. For this reason, it is normal that, who she thought of first when landing, was her daughters, Sasha and Malia. “My husband and I had done everything we could to achieve [that feeling] in our Chicago home, but when the whirlwind of the presidential campaign ended and we sent our family to the White House, my greatest concern was the most basic. : Could our daughters be able to have a childhood that is somewhat close to normal?
The Obamas quickly understood that their new home was "an office," "a museum," but also "a place where real families with real lives spend four or eight years of their lives together, in and out of the public eye." For this reason, “beyond its vital role in our democracy, I needed space for practical questions: a place where our girls could roll on the floor with their Polly Pockets and their animals, where they could invite friends to come and eat popcorn. and to see a movie, where they could play with a ball or go outside to play with the snow ”.
Michelle Obama says that the interior designer helped them “to find the necessary warmth for the family” that they so longed for. “Our daughters had rooms to call their own, where they could remove a large piece of art to hang a poster or a photo of their friends,” she says. “There were comfortable couches to snuggle up with our dogs, Bo and Sunny, after a long day. I had my own space where I could hide dressed in a tracksuit and put bad programs on TV ”.
For all this, Michael Smith became a fundamental piece with his knowledge and abilities. For example, lighting was essential. As recounted in the book, the White House is full of chandeliers, "which are not always the most practical option to bring warm light to a family space or to illuminate the works of art in the hallways." That's why Smith opted for softer, warmer taillights. "It is the magic of Michael, to give light to the past to bring life to the present," says Obama. Thanks to him, she relates, "the residence became a true refuge where our family could simply be a family and our girls could become little women with their own voices."
The Obama family lived in the White House between January 2009 and January 2017, when they were replaced by Donald Trump, his wife Melania and his son Barron, then 10 years old. After their eight years in power, the Obamas did not return to Chicago, but remained in Washington. There they bought a house, which they used to rent, for more than eight million euros. Also last summer they were interested in another one on Martha’s Vineyard, off the Massachusetts coast, for $ 13.5 million. The White House became their home and thanks to the wealth they accumulated in it they have managed to have some more.
